Download [Your Name] [Address] [City, State, Zip Code] The Honorable [Insert

[Your Name]
[Address]
[City, State, Zip Code]
The Honorable [Insert Representative’s Name]
[Address]
[City, State, Zip Code]
[Insert Date]
Re: [your State] to Join League for Federal Reform.
End ‘Taxation without Representation’ - Eliminate Equal Suffrage in the Senate
Dear Representative/Senator/Governor [Name],
My name is [Insert Your Name] and I reside at [Insert Your Address] in [Insert Your City, State],
and I vote. I am writing to ask that you take an active part in defending the interests of the
citizens of [your State] in Federal legislation and spending, by supporting efforts to establish a
new Federal America in which the power and importance of States and local government shall
be reinforced.
As a citizen of a State that has a population which is significantly larger than the average, I am
disenfranchised in the Senate of the United States. The Senate, by design, is the keystone of our
government. It limits each of the other branches of government. It controls all appointments to
the Executive, to the Supreme Court and the Federal Judiciary. It has veto power over all
legislation, which originates in the House of Representatives. But in the Senate my vote counts
for far less than the vote of a citizen of a small State. In 1787, a mere 30% of the population
could form a majority in the Senate. Today, that number is down to 18%. Residing in a large
State, I have become a second class citizen.
Voting in the Senate is apportioned based on a 227 year old rule which was instituted as part of
a bargain between small States and slaveholding States, in which equal suffrage in the Senate
was supported as a quid prop quo for constitutional provisions further strengthening slavery. It
was an integral part of the original sin of the American constitution - the legal consolidation of
slavery. Virtually every individual considered a ‘Founding Father’ was opposed to equal voting in
the Senate, including the first 4 Presidents, the first Chief Justice and the first Secretary of the
Treasury.
I ask you to support legislation authorizing and funding the participation of [your State] in a
League for Federal Reform, whose membership shall consist of the 12 largest States, whose
populations are 30% greater than the average, and who together constitute 60% of the
population and GDP of the United States - while holding only 24% of the voting power in the
Senate. The explicit objective of the League shall be apportionment of voting in the US Senate
based on State population.
The League’s members would be: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey and Virginia.
While it is true that there is only one provision of the constitution which is not subject to
amendment: (Article 5) “…no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in
the Senate” - that is no reason to passively accept a pernicious and unjust situation. An
aggressive battle of public opinion needs to be fought. The league would engage in research,
policy development and legal challenges. For example it would support research documenting
the disenfranchisement of their citizens, as evidenced by payment deficits due to federal
spending transfers to small States. The league would fund policy development designed to show
how federalism could work in the context of a ‘union of large States’ capable of substantial
independence. It would investigate topics such as banking regulation, government mandated
pensions, health and safety regulations, regional transport funding, health insurance regulation,
etc. within a more purely federal design. Legal challenges could be raised jointly by States in the
league in cases directly tied to current questions of the distribution of powers between States
and the national government, as a way of highlighting issues. Most importantly [your State] will
raise its voice loudly in protest.
I appreciate your help and ask that you please send me a response letting me know if you are
willing to fight to eliminate equal suffrage in the Senate, and to support legislation providing for
participation of [your State] in a League for Federal Reform as outlined above.
Thank you for your time and consideration of my request.
Sincerely,
[Insert Your Name]